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Gay, lesbian couples must be allowed visitors, medical power of attorney

By Michael D. Shear
updated 1 hour, 58 minutes ago

President Obama on Thursday signed a memorandum requiring hospitals to allow gays and lesbians to have non-family visitors and to grant their partners medical power of attorney.

The president ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation. The memo is scheduled to be made public Friday morning, according to an administration official and another source familiar with the White House decision.

An official said the new rule will affect any hospital that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding.

The decision injects the president squarely into the debate over gay marriage by attempting to end the common practice by many hospitals of insisting that only family members by blood or marriage be allowed to visit patients.

Gay activists have argued for years that recognizing gay marriages would ease the emotional pain associated with not being able to visit their partners during a health crisis.

Special rights?
By contrast, opponents of gay marriage have said the visitation issue is a red herring, and have argued that advocates want to provide special rights for gays and lesbians that others do not have.

The memorandum from Obama to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, made public late Thursday night, orders new rules that would ensure hospitals "respect the rights of patients to designate visitors."

Obama says the new rules should require that hospitals not deny visitation privileges on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay," Obama says in the memo.

Affected, he said, are "gay and lesbian American who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives -- unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated."

Slow advance
Obama's actions are the latest attempt by his administration to slowly advance the agenda of a constituency that strongly supported his presidential campaign.

In his first 15 months in office, Obama has hailed the passage of hate crime legislation and hosted the first gay pride day celebration at the White House. Last month, Obama's top military and defense officials testified before Congress in favor of getting rid of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military.

But the moves have been too slow for some in the gay community, who have urged the president to champion their causes head-on. One prominent gay blogger, John Aravosis, wrote last October that Obama's "track record on keeping his gay promises has been fairly abominable."

At least once every human should have to run for his life, to teach him that milk does not come from supermarkets, that safety does not come from policemen, that news is not something that happens to other people. ~ Robert Heinlein

would someone mind explaining to me why limits on who can visit were ever put in place to begin with?

In some places, the state doesn't recognize the domestic partnership in any way, or an incapacitated person's anti-gay parents manage to get named guardian and then they stop the partner from visiting or having any say in the care of the patient. Most of the cases are the latter kind, and in most states, there are ways to set things up legally to ensure that one's parents don't do something like that.

In some places, the state doesn't recognize the domestic partnership in any way, or an incapacitated person's anti-gay parents manage to get named guardian and then they stop the partner from visiting or having any say in the care of the patient. Most of the cases are the latter kind, and in most states, there are ways to set things up legally to ensure that one's parents don't do something like that.

I'm not just talking gay here. I mean when did they come up with the idea that only immediate family can access someone in ICU? I mean outside of my wife - I'm not sure I want any of my immediate family having access to me - but there are friends - my pastor - I have who I would want to have access. ANYHOW there has to be a reason why they made the rule in the first place and I for one . . . just don't get it.

I'm not just talking gay here. I mean when did they come up with the idea that only immediate family can access someone in ICU? I mean outside of my wife - I'm not sure I want any of my immediate family having access to me - but there are friends - my pastor - I have who I would want to have access. ANYHOW there has to be a reason why they made the rule in the first place and I for one . . . just don't get it.

This isn't (and never has been) some kind of uniform policy and it's a pretty moot point today in the wake of all the patient rights legislation.

Way back in the day, physicians limited visitor contact for a number of reasons. It was believed that visitors posed more of an infection threat, visitors made more work for the nursing staff, visitors frequently made patients angry, guilty, or depressed. Limiting contact, limited these concerns. Clergy were always allowed to visit.

In the 80s, patients started to push back against all that. Now there is already legislation in most states that secures various patient rights. Hospitals and clinics usually also have particular provisions for patient rights.

In emergencies hospital staff try to contact your next-of-kin. They go by your information so if you don't want Mommy showing up to hold your hand during that embarrassing rectal extraction procedure, don't list her as next-of-kin. Married couples automatically have decision-making authority over each other if one is incapacitated. However, anyone can designate anyone else to hold a durable medical power of attorney. This is free - you only have pay for the notary.

This Obama memo doesn't really change anything but it's a sop to the gays who have been whining about being ignored.

I feel that once a black fella has referred to white foks as "honky paleface devil white-trash cracker redneck Caspers," he's abdicated the right to get upset about the "N" word. But that's just me. -- Jim Goad